Case Study: Aerospace Manufacturer

An aerospace and defense enterprise operating in Asia, North America and Europe uses GM-X to procure custom assemblies and fabricated components for commercial jet aircraft, together with the required components and raw materials.

Previously, all procurement processes up to the point of purchase order placement were performed manually, on paper or using spreadsheets. Excessive paperwork, clerical errors, poor communication and approval delays created inefficiencies that inflated the enterprise's administrative costs. Worse yet, these inefficiencies made it nearly impossible to negotiate best possible supplier prices and lead times, and reliably fulfil customer delivery commitments.

SOLUTION BRIEF

GM-X eliminates the paperwork by automatically importing engineering designs for fabricated components from a computer-aided design (CAD) system and product lifecycle management (PLM) application. During the import, GM-X automatically creates manufacturing bills of material linked to the respective engineering drawings under full revision control. GM-X, in turn, consolidates the enterprise's material requirements allowing procurement officers to quickly and interactively identify the items to be procured, choose prospective bidders for each item based on supplier pre-qualification criteria, create requests for quotation (RFQs) and invite selected bidders by email.

Bidders can then log on securely to GM-X to view RFQ details and related engineering drawings on a read-only basis as they prepare their quotations. GM-X collaborates with each supplier via email, linking all inbound and outbound correspondence and attachments to the RFQ. Correspondence includes alerts reminding suppliers of engineering revisions as well as deadlines for acknowledging receipt of the RFQ, submitting enquires and submitting quotations. After preparing their quotations, bidders can enter the details directly into GM-X via a supplier portal.

The enterprise's procurement officers view and evaluate competitors' quotations based on lead times and pricing, and then select the best bid. Using its integrated workflow subsystem, GM-X creates and routes an electronic purchase requisition for the selected quotation via email, together with a quotation summary comparing all bids for the requisitioned item, for management approval. Upon approval, purchase requisitions are entered directly into the enterprise's ERP system.

Thereafter, GM-X handles all collaboration between the enterprise and its suppliers via email and a supplier portal, including real-time shipment tracking and delivery of raw materials and components on consignment to suppliers, advance shipment notifications from suppliers, and shipment tracking and delivery of fabricated components and assemblies to the enterprise's warehouse, or via drop shipment to the ultimate customer location..

Since its founding 20 years ago, Geoprise Technologies has focused exclusively on delivering top-quality expertise and technology solutions for businesses operating in Asia and the Pacific Rim, Europe and North America.

Geoprise Technologies delivers value with the utmost integrity by maintaining strict independence from other professional firms and technology providers, intense commitment to business ethics and profound respect for intellectual property rights.